Letters to Richea Gratz

As the first Jewish woman to attend college in the United States, Richea Gratz was shaped by the privilege of an upper-middle-class upbringing and liberal arts education, and by an equally strong rearing in Jewish tradition. Her father was a successful Philadelphia-based merchant, originally from Germany, and the descendant of a long line of rabbis, while her maternal grandfather was a wealthy Pennsylvania fur trader. In 1784, Richea married Samuel Hays, a trustee of the Mikveh Israel congregation in Philadelphia. She became a dedicated philanthropist and a patron of the arts and education. Her son, Isaac Hays, would become an important scientist and writer.